Jason Zapata

Category: writing

  • “This Devil Won’t Cry”

    By Jason Zapata

    I plummet from the heavens in disgrace.
    In this bitter moment my shame is complete,
    As my body strikes the unyielding concrete.
    The powers that be have put me in my place. (more…)

  • The Siege of Orléans

    By Jason Zapata

    The war would be decided by the siege of Orléans,
    An isolated French bastion along the river Loire.
    Sought after by John Plantagenet and his forces,
    English usurpers who claimed the French throne. (more…)

  • Dreams Of The Savanna

    By Jason Zapata

    “Its better to live one day as a Lion, than live one hundred years as a Sheep.”

    My days are spent in torment.
    Ever prodded by a chair and whip
    To jump through flaming hoops.
    I hear their clapping. My soul dies. (more…)

  • Death And The Cowboy

    She was with me when I let out my first cry
    And she’ll hold my hand when its time to die
    All men are equal in her eyes or so they say
    She gets closer with the passing of everyday

    I grew up hard and I grew up mean
    Shot my first man at age seventeen
    From my holster I drew my gun
    Pulled the trigger, his life was done
    (more…)

  • “Into The Night”

    By Jason Zapata

    There’s no going quietly into the night.
    No surrendering to inevitabilities of time
    Or taking shelter in memory and old age.
    Not when there’s still something to prove.

    There’s no going quietly into the night.
    Dignity be damned. I’ll do what must be done.
    I’ll fight the tireless enemy that approaches
    To give a dying dream another chance.
    (more…)

  • 14 Years: The Chronicles of Sir Reginald the Damned

    Part Six of The Lost Children of Guérande

    Reginald strode along a deep, slow churning stream. His eyes constantly scanned the brush and trees for the quarry he sought. The marsh was silent besides the soft squelching sound his boots made as he tread over the mud. The sun shined wanly through trees and Reginald tried to remain in the shadows as he moved forward.
    (more…)

  • 14 Years: The Chronicles of Sir Reginald the Damned

    Part Five of The Lost Children of Guérande 

    As Reginald expected a man was sent to the surrounding farms seeking volunteers to hunt the troll. A detailed description wasn’t forthcoming for those men gathered just outside of Guérande. A wise withholding of information, given the peasants would return to their fields if they knew the truth.
    (more…)

  • The Way

    By Jason Zapata

    You wrap your soft arms around me,
    Press against the statue I’ve become.
    And gaze into eyes staring past you.
    “Why won’t you say anything…?”
    (more…)

  • Banshee’s Wail

    By Jason Zapata

    This says I is the truth
    Or let the Saints forsake me.

    The night was distressed.
    And the moon peered warily
    Through a veil of clouds.
    Trudging home from the inn,
    I heard a chilling scream.
    It echoed across the fields,
    Filled and rattled my bones.
    And I felt cold. Terribly cold.
    (more…)

  • 14 Years: The Chronicles of Sir Reginald the Damned

    Part Four of The Lost Children of Guérande

    Reginald pursued his quarry across a farmer’s field. The troll’s towering form was a dark blot in the distance. It’s long stride rapidly covered ground towards the darkness that was Brière. Reginald had wanted to intercept his foe before it reached the marsh.
    (more…)